The financing of projects from the revenue generated by the tourism tax was approved at a meeting of the Sustainable Tourism Tax Committee of the Balearic Islands, including a ten million euro project to tackle the phenomenon of illegal Airbnb accommodation.
A total of €377 million will be spent on 79 projects, with only part of this amount coming from this year’s tax revenues (around €140 million).
The €10 million allocated to the fight against illegal short-term rentals will be used to recruit more inspectors and improve the technologies used, in line with the decisions of the island councils concerned.
Describing illegal supply as “one of the biggest problems” in the Balearic Islands, the Minister of Tourism of the island cluster, Jaume Bauzá, said that the ten million will be allocated in the “first phase” of a strategy to use the revenue generated by the tourist tax to combat the phenomenon of illegal rentals. The intention is to increase the funding in the coming years.
This 10 million is part of a total of 25 million for responsible tourism projects. The 15 million will be allocated for safety and awareness-raising in three of the four municipalities covered by the responsible tourism decree – Calvia (Magaluf), Palma (Playa de Palma) and Sant Antoni in Ibiza – as Llucomayor (Arenal) did not present a project.
The bulk of the total of €377 million, i.e. €247 million, will be allocated to environmental and water cycle related projects.
The committee is made up of representatives of the government, island councils, municipal authorities, business, trade unions, environmentalists, the cultural heritage sector, the agricultural sector and academics. The GOB environmentalists voted against the proposed expenditure and there were three abstentions – from the Confederation of Balearic Business Associations, Menorca Council and the UGT trade union.
